


Get a Grip and Get Out You're Safe

by treadsoftly



Series: Stay Awake [2]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Emperor Kylo Ren, Empress Rey, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Rey Palpatine, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, deleted scene basically, it didnt fit anywhere else narratively, nothing more explicit beyond that, rating is for blood and mentions of wounds, this whole fic is really soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:35:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24193678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treadsoftly/pseuds/treadsoftly
Summary: Companion piece to "Before You Ask Which Way To Go". Takes place immediately after that and right before the second part begins.Rey and Ben heal their wounds after defeating Palpatine, all physical, and some emotional.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Stay Awake [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706407
Comments: 12
Kudos: 51





	Get a Grip and Get Out You're Safe

**Author's Note:**

> Mentions of blood and gore. Please skip this entire work if that wigs you out. This part isn't necessary to understand the whole story, it's just a nice moment between the two that I couldn't fit narratively in the first or second part--call it a deleted scene if you will. 
> 
> Part two is still in the works for those who are curious. I hope to start posting by the end of the month, I would just like to have most of the story written before I do so (I'm not a fan of WIP posting)

Rey wanted nothing more than to sleep, but she had wounds to tend to and so did Ben. She left Ben in the cockpit as soon as they were out of the asteroid field and jumped into hyperspace to look for a medpac. They both needed bacta and pain medication. 

Off the galley kitchen lie a closet filled with supplies. Medpac in hand, she headed back to the room they shared their meal in and began pulling the pieces of the mepac apart. There was bacta, spray bandages, antiseptics, pain medication, and more she didn’t quite know what to do with. Carefully, she set aside what she thought she would need the most-- antiseptic, bacta, and bandages. 

The adrenaline deflated from her when she sat and finally took stock of her body. Mentally, exhaustion was creeping in and weighing down her limbs. Physically, she could barely tell what needed attention first. Looking down, there were scrapes on her legs. Nothing too awful, so she wiped them with antiseptic and moved on. There was a nasty gash on her left hand that was starting to throb. She wished the adrenaline hadn’t left her so soon; the antiseptic stung so much she was cursing under her breath. As soon as it was done she sprayed on a bandage and felt around her arms and torso for make scrapes. 

There was a gash on her side that felt like it wrapped around to her back more than her front. She grit her teeth, lifted her shirt, and got to work cleaning it as best she can reach. That was how Ben found her, contorted in her chair trying to see her back and make her right arm longer than it was. 

They met eyes and Rey’s cheeks flushed. She hadn’t expected him to find her struggling like an idiot. But Ben said nothing. He simply came up behind her and took the antiseptic from her hand. Crouched on the floor, he is at her level. His eyes scanned her wound and Rey kept her tunic lifted the slightest bit, aware that this is the most of her skin he has ever seen. 

The cloth he held paused inches from her skin and lifted his eyes to her, as if asking permission. It was silly, and Rey could roll her eyes, but instead she nodded and grit her teeth. With steady fingers he began cleaning what she couldn’t reach with a white cloth that progressively became more pink. He is gentle even when the antiseptic is anything but.

When he was satisfied, Rey handed him the bacta and bandage before he could even ask. The bacta cooled her skin immediately and with a quick hiss of the can, the wound was sealed. She thought that was it, that he’ll stand and she’ll help him, but his hand was on her knee, tugging her to turn toward him. She slid her bottom in the chair and went easily even with her eyes wide and curious to the way her skin tingled under the warmth of him. 

When she was facing him, he was not even looking at her, not really. He was looking nearly above her and Rey wondered what was wrong with her forehead or her hair for such consternation from him. Unconsciously she reached for it but Ben’s hand swatted her away with a tisk. Slowly, he lifts a clean rag of antiseptic and Rey hissed audibly from the sting as it hit the delicate skin of her scalp. The wipe came away red and Rey watched Ben frown as he meticulously cleared the blood. When he was done, he gently applied bacta but did not bandage it, so it must have been a flesh wound. 

With an intense gaze, Ben looked over her again and his eyes zero in on her chest. She must have something on her collarbone because he met her gaze and waited for her nod before gently pressing antiseptic to a wound she didn’t realize she had. His fingers were a little rough here, they lingered a bit too long, and gooseflesh rose on her skin as she suppressed a visible shudder. When he met her gaze again, he looked away quickly and stood.

His back was to her as he sorted through the medpac on the table, sifting through what Rey already pulled out. He sat in the chair next to her and rolled up his sleeve. Rey said nothing. The silence they had was almost comfortable. It shouldn’t be. No one had ever helped Rey with her wounds unless they were a med droid or a doctor. And even then, she only visited either if she cannot manage it herself. Baring a wound to someone on Jakku would mean starvation and certain death. With the Resistance it felt like weakness. Here, it felt like comfort--something Rey had so little of in life that she never knew to seek it out. 

It was this thought that had her pushing Ben’s hands away and setting to work cleaning his wounds. They are many, but none too deep to cause her any concern. She started with his hands, hands that have been so gentle with her, and worked her way up his arms to the gash on his shoulder. The scrapes on his face are not deep, but the scratch on his knee was deeper than it appeared. Kneeling, she pulled the fabric of his pants apart where they were already torn and gently cleaned away the debris surrounding the wound. They are both covered in more grime, dirt, and dust than they must realize. She hadn’t seen herself in a mirror, but if Ben was anything to go off of, she must look atrocious. 

Ben made no noise as she worked. No recognition that the wounds hurt or bothered him and it bothered Rey that this pain felt like nothing to him. Once his knee was bandaged, Rey finally met his gaze. His eyes had been tracking her every movement even as she avoided them and she wondered if Ben ever had anyone treat his wounds? Was he so alone like her that he never trusted anyone else? She tried not to dwell on it. If Ben didn’t want her there, he would tell her. But something deep down inside told her that Ben was as comforted as she was, even as he sat frozen in tension. She said nothing because she understood, no one touched her either. 

Standing, she set to work on his face. There was a gash just below his left eye and she cleaned it out gently, holding the bottom of his jaw with two fingers to keep him steady. His warmth always startled her. She never realized humans were so warm to the touch. 

There was a split on his lower lip and Rey’s eyes tracked there when there looks to be nothing else left. Though Ben was unmoved, he was still tense. Rey felt the way he forced his lips to relax so she could clean between the folds of broken skin. She tried her best to not actually touch his lip, all too aware of his gaze burning on her. It was silly. She was hugging him not too long ago, had touched his face exactly here not too long ago. For some reason this felt more intimate. 

She finished all too quickly and astutely did not meet his gaze. Turning to the table, she wiped her hands and began wrapping up the supplies. Ben stayed seated, just to her side, and said nothing. She can tell he was still looking at her. His mind was a constant companion, even when he said nothing she knew he was there, not just his physical presence either. When she turned away to put the medpac back where she found it, he grabbed her hand. A gentle tug of her fingers had her turning back, her eyes trailing up the arm holding onto her and up to the face she was beginning to know so well. 

“Thank you,” he whispered. And again, she wondered how much kindness Ben Solo had ever experienced. 


End file.
